"Today, Indians are the poorest of all American ethnic groups," said Father Michael Carson, a Choctaw Indian who is assistant director of Native American affairs for the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church.

"The American Catholic Church has continued to be virtually silent," said Bishop George V. Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, "which leads us to the question: Why?"

A majority black parish in downtown Charlotte has fostered an ongoing dialogue on race with members a majority white parish less than three miles away.

Why is the statue of General Lee gone and the statue of General Sherman still there?

Twenty-five years after “Brothers and Sisters to Us,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned a study to discern its implementation and reception. The results of that study painted a disheartening picture of the church’s relationship with the black community.

Democrats, and the Republicans who understand Dreamers are owed protection, could take a lesson from people of color around the country in how to navigate a political process tainted by racism. The lives of 800,000 Dreamers depend on it.